Comminuting device.



F. M. WOODS. COMMINUTING DEVICE.

APPLICATlQ-N FILED OCT-14,1915. www.

Patented July 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F. M. WOODS.

COMMINUTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14, 1915 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

awe/Mow Patented July 11, 1916.

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FRED M. WOODS, F FREEPORT, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 STOVEIR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF FREEPOBT, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

COMMINUTING DEVICE.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July If, Imifi.

Application filed October 14., 1915. Serial No. 55,828.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRED M. WooDs, a citi-' zen of'the United States, residing at Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Comniinuting Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The general object of this invention is to provide a machine which will with little waste of power rapidly reduce alfalfa and the like whether dry or otherwise to substantially uniform comminuted condition, the degree of fineness being variable at will.

There has been much difficulty in providing a machine which will operate satisfac:

torily upon material in the widely different states just suggested, and this difliculty is avoided in this machine largely by removing from the sphere of operation almost immediately all such material as'has reached the desired degree of fineness, retaining the residue for further comminution, and doing this by means which obviate clogging and mate- ,rial friction.

'In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the" machine parallel to the general direction of the feed Fig. 2 is an elevation, looking from the left in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1.

In these figures, A represents a frame supporting the working parts of the machine, B a casing, of general cylindrical form, closed above and having on one side an inlet passage l3 and on the opposite side an outlet opening B which like the passage B extends approximately from end to end of the casing B. The cutting devices, which are without novelty herein claimed, include rotary cutters co-acting with fixed knife bars. At the lower side of said inlet passage is fixed a knife bar C which projects into the casing to a line uniformly distant from the axis thereof, and along the upper boundary of said outlet opening is fixed a.

second lmife bar C which projects inward to the same extent. A shaft D rotates in the axis of the casing and bears spiral out a conveyer E and is crushed down and condensed thereon by rollers F, F, After leaving the conveyer, the .material passes between a roller G and a vertically movable coacting roller G and thence through the inlet passage B. In advancing to the rollers last mentioned, the material is compressed between the rollers F, G and a fixed inclined plate H which leads upwardly from the .conveyer and guides the mass to the horizontal plane passing between the the material is sheared at this cutter bar it moves downwardly forward in the annular space of considerable radial width, surroundingthe cutters and the. finer portions escape, as will presently appear, while the coarser portion moves on in that space and is further sheared at the knife bar C, the finer part and short segments thus removed largely falling between the cutters, although some small portion, including any long segments passes around to be sheared again with the entering material. The result of this action is that there is constantly in the space below the cutters a loose mass of coarse material from which fine material is constantly shaken by the action of the cutters, and from this mass countless successive small portions are rapidly sheared at the knife bar C, so that there is never any clogging nor is the material ever so impacted as to cause material friction, In

the opening B a somewhat closely fitting hollow perforated cylinder K is mounted to rotate about the axis of a shaft 0 parallel -pending largely upon the speed of the cylinders rotation, although cylinders having apertures of different sizes maybe used interchangeably. Preferably the apertures in the cylinder are made with inwardly diverent walls solthat there may be less tendency of material to become fast in the openings. With thisform of apertures the cassing at the edge of the opening in which the cylihdgr lies removes any ,portions which may for'the moment be caught in the holes. With certain kinds of material, a simple perforated cylinder would operate satisfactorily, but in order that the same machine may be used with material of any kind, the cylindrical shell is made upof stave-like sections L each pivoted near its forward edge to swing about an axis parallel to the "cylinders axis, the arrangement being such that as the cylinder rotates the sections as they leave the opening Bhare swung outward aboutthe pivots L opening the cylinder from end to end onits lower side. As

they open 5 they are in constant "contact with a fixed guide memberf-M the inner surface of which progressively recedes from and as gradually returnstothe cylindrical surface,

then gently close before they, again reach the -opening B The inward movement of .the sections is limited in any convenient ,way,.f or-example, by lugs P on theend portiOnsof the cylinder, and they maybe of cast metal or maybe made in any desired manner.-

The fine material falling from the c 1111- deror from the devices at the end 0 the conveyer E is-collectedby hoppers O, O and then deliveredasmay be desired, usually to a conveyer or elevator.

It is well known that in machines of this general kind stems and stalks parallel to the shearing lines will not be cut into short segments, and that the undivided portions often cause clogging or are delivered with the fine material. 1 With the machine here set forth this evil is eliminated, and long pieces are never delivered and never clog the machine, being quickly caught and divided after they are detached from the entering mass of material.

What I claim is:

1. In devices of the class described, the combination with comminuting devices, of a lower roll'havin a fixed axis and a yielding roll. co-acting with the first to deliver material to said devices, a conveyer for bringing material near said rolls, an inclined plateleading upwardly from sald conveyer to the upper side of the lower roll, and a yielding roll co-acting with the plate to raise the 1 lower portion of the material and depress the upper portion, delivering the whole between said co-acting rolls.

remain closed when at said opening and to open when at the opposite part of their common path. y g 4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a casing having a lateral discharge opening, of comminuting devices within the casing, a perforated cyllnder fitting and rotating in said opening and provided withstave-like sections each pivoted to swing upon-an axis parallel to the axis of the cylinder and arranged to be closed when at said opening and toopen when at a lower point in their common path.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' FRED M. WOODS.

\Vitnesses:

J. F. DITTMAN,

E. C. SCHAEFER. 

